Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The happiness and positive atmosphere was palpable. Tuesday night, at the board meeting of the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, the exuberance was such I thought I'd been transported to the Happiest Place on Earth.

Why not? Daniel PK Diffenbaugh seems like a good guy. He has good answers for everything. Miracles appeared to have been performed at Sacramento High, the charter school where he worked for five years. Like Diffenbaugh likes to point out, the achievement gap was closed during his tenure, the school saw an increase in the Academic
Performance Index (API) 582 to 778 and the state ranking increase from a 2 to a
7. Students meeting California college eligibility increased from 35 percent to over 80 percent. Over 75 percent of
graduates were accepted to four-year universities including Stanford, CAL, and MIT.

I was ready to join in the celebration. Then I was reminded by an alert reader of a trick that charter schools are often accused of doing to mask their performance and make it appear better than it is.

First of all, let me remind you of a complain I hear often regarding charter schools. The reason why students often seem to perform better than in regular public schools, it's because students who attend charters are those already better equipped for academic excellence: their parents are more aware of the education system, they're bound to be more involved, thus pushing their kids on a path to success.

But there's another complaint I've heard about, and in some cases, amply documented with reports and stories.

That charter schools inflate their academic success by pushing out poor performers -- they skim from the top. They appear to have closed the achievement gap, increase college entrance, etc., by getting rid of students who don't perform up to par. Education historian Diane Ravitch often blogs in the issue. You can find one of her entries here.

So, what does this have to do with PK Diffenbaugh and Sacramento High?
I don't know yet. But I did a little digging and I found something a bit alarming. In the 2004-05 school year -- the same year when he began working there -- the school had 1,692 students enrolled. When he left in 2010, there were 960 students.

For the sake of argument, let's pretend the class of 2006-07 -- when PK was already a principal -- had its student population equally distributed among all grades. By then, it was 1,147 students in the entire charter -- or about 287 students per cohort. By 2010, that would have been 240 students per cohort -- or a 16 percent, four year drop out rate, again, if the students were equally distributed among grades.

Again, I don't know if that was the issue here. But losing more than 732 students in five years, when charter schools are growing everywhere seems a bit concerning.

I know you're angry. I see it in your faces, I hear it in your words. And I understand it too: it's not easy to leave your country and your family behind for the hope of a better future. And once you're here, you're smacked with the crude reality of a country that does not speak your language, that has some customs you don't relate to, that pays you very little for a job that breaks your back. On top of that, you get bombarded with messages that, no matter how much you work, no matter how much you do -- get up early to toil in the fields, come home late and have no life -- it's still not enough. You still have to learn English, and you're not going to get immigration papers because the system still treats you like a political pawn.

So with the little money you make, you have to find housing wherever you can afford it: sharing a room with six other people, in a house with 20 other human beings, in a neighborhood that can barely park your car because every one needs one to get to work, to take the kids to school.

On top of that you get blamed for it: why do you people have so many cars? Why don't you clean your streets or educate your children properly?

There's a lot of tension in your life already. I get it. And then one day, you find out that the police has killed one of your own. A lettuce harvester like you. For no apparent reason except that he had a knife and was acting erratically, perhaps drunk or otherwise intoxicated.

Two weeks later, another harvester like you is killed also by the police. And suddenly you're scared and angry, and you feel like you're under siege, like the police feels the right to kill you as if you were nothing but a dog.

Your rage is so palpable I can feel it running through my veins right now. Your pain is so overwhelming it becomes tears flowing down my cheeks.

I understand it. But please, I beg of you, don't let your anger turn into violence. It's the last thing we need in this city.

Last night, a man was gunned down near the place where you were protesting a police shooting. Another police officer, trying to save the victim's life, was attacked by a bottle and had to be taken to the hospital. The crowd became so rowdy, police officers from as far as Santa Cruz had to be called in. We were so close to a full-time riot, it was scary.

I ask you now: how do you fix police violence by becoming violent yourself? You don't. All you do is put law enforcement on edge and escalate an already volatile situation.

Please, don't do it.

This afternoon, Salinas Police chief Kelly McMillin will explain to the media -- and the community -- what happened Tuesday morning, when a man was killed by police officers near Sanborn and Del Monte. McMillin is hoping it will help clear up misunderstandings, but given the current state of distrust in the police department, that may not happen. It could actually add fuel to the fire.

So I ask you please, remain calm. We are not going to solve any problems by calling the police names or throwing objects at them. Last nigh, an officer and emergency service personnel were trying to help one of our own. What if they could have saved his life, but were not able to because they were hurt? What if the victim was your brother or husband? Wouldn't you have wanted him to be saved?

Alisal residents, community leaders: this is the time when cooler heads need to prevail. If people gather tonight at Sanborn, maybe we can bring candles to signify peace. People need to express their anger, but they also need to do it in a manner that's respectful and safe.

An eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind. At this moment, we need our eyes, our minds and our hearts to realize violence is not a path we should take.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

If you read my story about K-12 testing now underway at California schools, you probably remember expert Doug McRae saying the system will not likely be ready until September 2015. If you missed that fabulous piece of journalism, you can read it here.

McRae is now going a step further, saying the testing should be delayed until the spring of 2017, or even 2018.

His reasons? Common Core is not yet implemented at most districts, and it will probably won't happen in 2014-15 either, he writes in this op-ed piece he wrote for EdSource. He explains it more eloquently than I ever could, so check it out. And let me know what you think.

Monday, May 19, 2014

The sophomore at Robert Louis Stevenson School took the first place with his piece “Differing Perception of Covered Eyes." It will be displayed in the halls of the Capitol along with other students’ works from across the country.

“Congratulations to Jung Hoon Ki for his magnificent work of art, ‘Differing Perception of Covered Eyes,’” said Congressman Sam Farr. “Each year I am amazed out how talented our young local artists are. The great tradition of Central Coast artists is definitely represented by this generation."

Ki will travel to Washington, D.C., to be honored at a Congressional reception. He will also receive a $1500 renewable scholarship from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Cristian Ponce, a junior at Dr. T.J. Owens Gilroy Early College Academy, was named the 2nd place winner with his piece “The Life of the Red Balloon.” His artwork will be prominently displayed in the congressman’s Washington office.

San Benito High School senior Jericho Coquilla was named the third place winner, with “Young Dude”. His piece will be displayed in the congressman’s Salinas office.

The Congressional Art Competition began in 1982 to provide an opportunity for members of Congress to encourage and recognize the artistic talents of their young constituents. Since then, over 650,000 high school students have been involved with the nation-wide competition.

The Monterey County Home Charter School, a k-12
public school for families who home school their children,
will host their annual open house from 5:30 to 7 pm. Thursday. You can learn more about the program and view student work and projects.

The school will also host a meeting for parents and community members on Common Core and funding related to it from 4:30 – 5:30 pm
on this same day.

The events will take place at the Monterey County Office of Education, Rooms A & B, 901 Blanco Circle, Salinas.

Big news to come out of the International Science and Engineering fair in Los Angeles.

Caddell, a sophomore at Stevenson School, took top honors in the Physics and Astronomy category at the competition last week in Los Angeles.

He was one of three Monterey County students to take part on the event. Kapil Sinha, a sophomore at Salinas High School, Jennifer
McDonnal, a senior at York School, also competed with more than 1,700 young scientists
selected from 435 affiliate fairs in more than 70 countries, regions and
territories. More than 500 finalists received awards and prizes for
their innovative research, including 17 "Best of Category" winners, who
each received a $5,000 prize.

The Intel Foundation, which sponsors the event, also awarded a $1,000 grant to each winner's
school and to the affiliated fair they represent. Additionally, the
Intel Foundation presented a select number of students with experiential
awards, including an 11-day trip to China to attend the country's
largest national science competition, speak with researchers at Intel's
lab in Shanghai, and visit the Panda Research Base in Chengdu.

Caddell was also awarded "Best of Category" in Physics and Astronomy. In addition to earning $8,000 in prizes, he'll also travel to China. Stevenson School and the Monterey County Science & Engineering Fair will receive $1,000 grants as well.

Chapman's project, The Leidenpump: A Non-Mechanical Means of Fluid Delivery also earned him two additional special awards: $500 from the Patent and Trademark Office Society and a 4-year renewable scholarship, New American University Provost's Scholarship, at Arizona State University.

Sinha, a sophomore at Salinas High School was awarded $500 from the American Society for Horticultural Science for his project: Molecular Characterization of Wild Beet in the Imperial Valley's Commercial Sugar Beet Fields.

Caddell, Sinha and McDonnal earned the opportunity to compete at ISEF by taking top honors at the Monterey County Science & Engineering Fair held at CSUMB in March.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Trustees with the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District decided that fifth time was a charm, and will not continue meeting until May 23, when they'll likely hear reports from a trip somebody is likely to take to visit another superintendent candidate.

I realize I'm sprinkling the word "likely" liberally in this salad of ideas. Sorry. With MPUSD, you never know for sure.

On the idea of the trip, I'm purely speculating. When I asked Board President Jon Hill if they're going to visit another site, he said "No Comment." Mmmm. Let's see. On May 9, trustees announced they'd continue meeting Monday and consider "all candidates." Hill said he could not comment on exactly what that meant (the initial 27? the seven semi-finalists? the three finalists?). They'll meet again on May 23 -- after a week and a half, enough time to take another exploratory trip. Maybe this weekend?

Hill said the reason for the shroud of secrecy is the promise of confidentiality made to candidates.
"It could be pretty embarrassing" if a candidate was announced and she didn't get selected, Hill said. "Quite honestly, we been spot on."

Frankly, it is amazing that the name of the first finalist has not leaked out. Which could mean either that power players who know about it are satisfied enough they refused to make a fuzz, or... Nah. I'll keep that one to myself.

There has to be something positive about the way the process is going, or I would have heard complaints by now. The fact that I haven't probably means something's working. Or maybe it won't work, and people will complain after the fact. We'll see.

Testing expert Doug McRae, a former top executive with a local testing company, was busy two weeks ago visiting schools in Monterey County to see how the new testing system is going. I accompanied him to a couple of the schools, and even though I did not include any of my observations in my story in today's paper, the visits informed it a great deal.

McRae put together his comments in a meaty report to the California Board of Education, which apparently did not sit well with California Department of Education administrators. They immediately called at least one of the schools he visited to find out whether he had signed a confidentiality agreement.

Yes, CDE administrators. Mr. McRae is as "by-the-book" as they get, and he signed an affidavit at every single school he visited. He made me sign two of them, one at each school I accompanied him to. Frankly, I though that was overkill, but now I know why.

Plus, we were not in the room when the actual test began. Mr. McRae pushed me out the moment the test proctor read out loud "you may now begin the test."

We did not see ANY of the questions students had to answer, which is apparently a bigger secret than anti-aging cream formula.

Scientist that he is, McRae wrote a six-page analysis of his methodical observations. He chose different schools with different scholarly achievement, and ranked his commentaries accordingly. Here they are, for your enjoyment.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Graduations are coming. It's that time of the year when parents feel puffier than a peacock strutting its feathers and lighter than a helium balloon.

I feel your joy. And I want to share it with the world.

Nominate your favorite graduating senior, for a chance to have his/her story featured in the the Monterey Herald. I'm looking for special students who worked hard and beat the odds, students who refused to give up when things were not going their way. It doesn't matter to me if they're straight A students. What matters most is that they did not give up.

The Monterey Public Library is now accepting applications from student summer volunteers.

Teen Library Volunteers help with the Summer Reading Program by assisting with crafts, sign-ups and events and other tasks. Volunteers should enjoy working with children and must be at least 14 years old. This is opportunity to earn community service hours and build college resumes.

Applications may picked up at the Library or online here. Interviews begin May 29.
The Library is located at 625 Pacific Street, Monterey. For more information contact Eboni Harris at (831) 646-3094 or harris@monterey.org.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Trustees with the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District are scheduled to hold the fifth continuation of a special meeting they began on May 1 to decide what to do about the hiring of a new superintendent.

And they don't appear to be any closer to hiring one, as it was announced Friday at the end of continuation number four they'll now consider all candidates. Not sure if that means “all candidates who applied” (27), all semi-finalists (7) or just the three finalists.

It's looking more and more like we're going to have an interim superintendent a while longer. Interim Superintendent Bill Brand seems widely liked, so that may be a good thing.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Meeting three of the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District came and went, and trustees may not be closer to choosing a superintendent than they were a week ago.

How could you know, when their closed-session discussions are off-the-record?

As you probably remember, trustees have met already three times to decide whether or not they'll hire their final candidate, a mysterious woman from Southern California. They could be also discussing the contract that was put on the agenda for the public's perusal. Trustee Tim Chaney, the only board member to publicly express displeasure with the process, told me on Tuesday they were getting close to an agreement. If you missed the story, here it is.

Apparently, they didn't reach one on Wednesday, as they're scheduled to meet again on Friday. This time, they're meeting at 8:45 a.m., which means they're still hopeful they'll have something ready to include in Tuesday's regular board meeting agenda.

I think it's time to try to dig up who this mystery woman from Southern California is. She may be getting cold feet, who knows? She already sort of got jilted once, judging by conversations taking place during the first board meeting. Who knows, maybe she's thinking twice about working for this board? I really would like to know, wouldn't you?

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Hamish Tyler, director of the Media Center for Arts Education and Technology at the Monterey County Office of Education says the Millennium Charter School is not moving out of MCOE. It's just expanding into Sherwood Hall near the Salinas Sports Complex.

"There will always be 58 students here," at MCOE, Tyler said.

But with an incoming class of another 58 students, the freshmen and sophomores already housed at the MCOE campus of Millennium were feeling the squeeze. That's already 100 some students at MCOE, and capacity was becoming an issue.

Millennium's much touted studios will remain where they are, and Millennium students will use them as needed. By expanding capacity, the studios will also be available to students of the home charter program and other programs managed by MCOE, Tyler said.

Well, trustees with the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District met again Monday evening, a continuation of their very lengthy Thursday meeting, and still they did not seem to reach an agreement.

As you probably recall, three trustees and three community members took a trip to Southern California to visit the district of the top candidate. When they came back, the agenda contained approval of a new superintendent and a reception to welcome her.

But trustees did not approve the contract and did not welcome anybody. Instead, they scheduled a special meeting to discuss the contract and the selection.

Board member Tim Chaney read a scathing letter at the beginning of the special meeting Thursday, accusing Board President Jon Hill of tainting the process and asking for a new process.

Trustees then went into closed session and did not come out until about 9 p.m. with nothing to report. They scheduled another meeting for Monday, which took place as scheduled, and still, nothing to report.

Trustees scheduled yet another meeting for Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., another continuation. Whether there will be a new superintendent at the end of the meeting, who knows. Stay tuned.

It's National Teachers Appreciation Day (and week) and even though I believe teachers should be thanked and appreciated daily, it's also good to take a minute to celebrate these selfless and caring people in our midst.

Happy Teachers Day, wonderful teachers!

I see you dragging school projects to board meetings; I see you gasping at the sight of your kids falling on the ground during recess; I see you gently correcting your students when their answers are not quite accurate. I see your classrooms lovingly decorated, a sanctuary where kids can breath easily, regardless of what goes on in their homes. The work you do is priceless and exhausting, and you do it every day with a smile on your face and love in your heart.

To all the teachers in Monterey County and beyond, have a great day! Know that I'm your biggest and most humble fan of them all.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Frank Ledesma Elementary has just been named among the 106 schools in California that will receive the 2013-14 Title I Academic
Achievement Award.

The Title I Academic Achievement Award is given to schools receiving
federal Title I funds, which assist schools in
meeting the educational needs of students living at or below the poverty
line. Of the approximately 10,000 schools in California,
more than 6,000 of them participate in the Title I program.

“I am proud of what these schools have accomplished under often
challenging circumstances,” California Superintendent of Schools Tom Torlakson said in announcing the award. “Their administrators
and teachers are committed to giving their students every opportunity
to gain the knowledge and skills that will help them in school and
throughout their lives.”

Frank Ledesma earned the California Distinguished Award last week, also for closing the achievement gap. Those guys, they're on roll! Way to go!

Hartnell Students took the Windy City by Storm! They earned first prize in the 2014 Mock Firms International Skyscraper Challenge in Chicago. If you missed the initial article about their trip, you can find it here.

While in Chicago, they were wined and dined by former Hartnell President Phoebe Helm. She was on hand to see their triumph. And Tuesday, Hartnell will celebrate the students with a press conference in their honor. Will have to miss it, but what a wonderful achievement, guys and gal. We're proud of you!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Diana Vita, account clerk at Carmel High School was named one of six 2014 Classified School Employees of the Year by California Superintendent of Schools Tom Torlakson.

The announcement describes Vita as "an exemplary employee and more importantly an outstanding person. She sees no boundaries of time or defined job parameters when she comes to work. She is the school’s financial secretary and that entails managing money, fundraisers, clubs, minutes, rosters, the student store—the list goes on. What she sees are responsibilities and needs—for students, parents, faculty and staff, and the community. When she sees a need you can be sure she will be either leading the charge to address it, or will be working tirelessly to meet it as part of a team. At no time will you find her to be less than professional and she consistently brightens the day of others with her cheerful attitude and willing spirit."

The annual program recognizes six outstanding classified school employees, each representing one of the following categories: child nutrition; maintenance, operations, and facilities; office and technical support; para-educator and instructional assistance; support services and security; and transportation.

“I offer my congratulations to six hard-working and devoted school employees who exemplify what commitment to school and student really is,” said Torlakson. “These highly skilled and talented workers make the extra effort to support their students, schools, and communities.”

The 2014 Classified School Employees of the Year will be honored by Torlakson at a luncheon held May 22 in Sacramento.

The competition in St. Louis came and went, and the boys and girls from York, Seaside, and Carmel robotics teams did great.

As you probably remember from my earlier reporting, the three robotics teams earned the right to advance to the final competition in St. Louis, Missouri. They left last week, competed, and had time to tour around (judging by the photos posted by Tom Clifford, Carmel's coach extraordinaire. You can look at his blog here.)

Katy Castagna, York's mom extraordinaire, accompanied her son and all the teams through their adventure. She reports that the Seaside Bay Bots had the best record, with six wins and four losses. York's Deus Ex Machina and Carmel's Rocking Bots both had four wins and six losses.

"We should be very proud to have three local teams compete among 400 of the best from all over the world," Katy wrote.